jane
[jeyn]
- a girl or woman.
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Origin of jane
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10; generic use of the proper name
Jane
[jeyn]
- a female given name: derived from John.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Jane's
- any of several periodical publications such as Fighting Ships and All the World's Aircraft
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Word Origin
C20: named after Frederick Thomas Jane (1865–1916), British naval writer and artist
jane
- slang, mainly US a girl or woman
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for jane's
Jane
fem. proper name, from French Jeanne, Old French Jehane, from Medieval Latin Johanna (see John). As a generic name for "girl, girlfriend" it is attested from 1906 in U.S. slang. Never a top-10 list name for girls born in the U.S., it ranked in the top 50 from 1931 to 1956. It may owe its "everywoman" reputation rather to its association with John.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper